Georgia Southern University for LGBT? (Atlanta, Columbus: how much, private schools, live)

[JamesHeath]

Hi,

I'm hoping to start college in Georgia and my top choice is Georgia Southern as it seems to be the best college for my course. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of the Statesboro area or Georgia Southern University itself and knows if its fairly gay friendly/diverse around there?

I'm not expecting everyone there to be extremely accepting, it is georgia southern, after all, but I just don't want to go somewhere which is extremely un-accepting either..

I've searched and searched but can't seem to find anything on it!

Thanks for any help!

James

[BullochResident]

So happy you chose us over Georgia State or UGA!

Many locals here do lean conservative, but there is definitely a big acceptance of gays here compared to other parts of south GA due to us being a college town. You should be fine.

[WanderingImport]

I don't think I know of any college town that isn't accepting of LGBT. Statesboro is no exception.

[midgeorgiaman]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

I don't think I know of any college town that isn't accepting of LGBT. Statesboro is no exception.

I agree. With the exception of some religious affiliated private schools, this is a non-issue today on college campuses. At any public school, especially a large one, there will be no problems at all.

[JamesHeath]

Okay that's made me feel a bit better, thanks! I'm from the UK and i'm going to be moving over as an exchange student for a year so i'm just trying to find out what to expect!

BullochResident are you a student there at the moment? Do you notice much of a gay community around the campus or do people just seem to keep to themselves? I noticed theres a LGBT association but the twitter/facebook seems a bit dead lol

[BullochResident]

Originally Posted by JamesHeath

Okay that's made me feel a bit better, thanks! I'm from the UK and i'm going to be moving over as an exchange student for a year so i'm just trying to find out what to expect!

BullochResident are you a student there at the moment? Do you notice much of a gay community around the campus or do people just seem to keep to themselves? I noticed theres a LGBT association but the twitter/facebook seems a bit dead lol

I'm not a student, but I am on campus a lot. Try asking around when you get here.

[Southern Soul Bro]

I came in pretty much to echo the posts of midgeorgiaman and WanderingImport. Keep in mind, NOWHERE is perfect. However, I cant think of too many college environments where things like sexual orientation, interracial relationships, etc. are unaccepted, unless it's certain religious schools. I've seen a lot of that being around crowds of Mercer and Columbus State students. I'm still in my 20s and even I'm shocked at how much more accepting people are of things like that even since 8 or 9 years ago.

[Drewplanner]

Georgia Southern is about as gay-friendly as a college campus can be in South Georgia. It was not always this way, but over the past seven years, GSU has seen a dramatic change in its 'attitude' if you will. The Gay-Straight Alliance on campus is one of the largest and most politically powerful student organizations on campus (several hundred members). I would not say they use their political power all that often, but are quick to organize when necessary. They host an statewide LGBT conference annually in the fall, and a few events throughout the years that are well attended. The annual spring drag show packs out the ballroom and had to turn away over 700 students one year who were still in line when it started. The organization is attacked throughout the year in the George-Anne student newspaper's opinion section but no one really cares. Many of the students who are involved in the Christian organizations on campus are also involved in GSA and see no conflict. Student organizations cannot discriminate against sexual orientation by their charters, so "some" of the Christian organizations find shady ways to work around that, but generally cannot exclude you from membership. The university recently added gender-identity to its non-discrimination clause. In 2009 the GSA was recognized as the most outstanding in the state of Georgia among colleges and at one time was the largest in the state (Kennesaw also has a large lgbt organization).

I have not been involved in Georgia Southern activities in a long time, but I hear only good things about the GSA there - the Multicultural Student Center recently changed leadership though and is run by a conservative Christian who has come into conflict with the GSA. I have also noticed many of the greek organizations are more accepting to LGBT members where that used to not be the case. I found the Christian Campus Fellowship to be the most gay-friendly of the Christian organizations.

As for the city, there is no organized gay community in Statesboro, but there are clusters of gays who reside in the historic/downtown areas. Any visit to Starbucks on Northside Drive can spot some LGBTs. There has also always been a few restaurant/bars who catered to a gayer clientele, but I am not sure which those are now since I have not lived in Statesboro for a while. As for churches, the Trinity Episcopal is gay-friendly and the UU is very involved in the GSA on campus. Gay religious students general use the student organizations as the extent of their weekly rituals as the university is more liberal than the local historic churches. I would also note that Grindr in Statesboro is much more active than any other 2nd tier city I have visited. If you visit Atlanta on the weekends, youll find at least 50-100 Ga Southern alums at Blakes or Ten.

[jeshua_lgbt_supportive]

Hey James, my name is Jeshua. I'm not a student of the university, but, I am a resident of Statesboro, Ga. I welcome you with open arms. Please feel free to email me to chat openly. I am also gay. My email address is [email]ujlattimor@gmail.com[/email]. Please address me with your first and last name so I won't discard your email as spam. I look forward to hearing from you.
Shalom and have a cool day!